Tag: government

Patriot Academy is a three- to seven-day “boot camp” in leadership and government open to students ages 16 to 25 and held every summer in various state capitols throughout the country. Students delve into the political process from the inside out as they file legislation, debate bills, campaign for office and pass laws. In between legislative activities, they receive training in media skills, public speaking, leadership, current issues and America’s heritage–all from a Biblical worldview. Conservative leaders from all areas of the political field mentor students through the process, sharing their experience and wisdom. Patriot Academy offers students the most realistic, condensed, conservative political training that we know of. The Regional Academies in Arizona, Idaho, Florida and Delaware are 3-day sessions, while the National Academy in Texas is a seven-day session open to all qualifying students from around the country.

Patriot Academy has a single, bold vision: to equip a new generation of leaders to champion the cause of freedom and truth in government, media, entertainment, and education, as we help bring our nation back to the principles on which we were founded. Patriot Academy has a proven track record of excellence through a simple four part strategy:

Train students to understand and influence government policy with a Biblical worldview

Demonstrate the principles of ethical servant leadership from the Founding Fathers’ perspective

Teach the political process and essential leadership skills through intense hands-on training

Inspire students to be salt and light in every area of society and culture

President Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” Unless we motivate and equip the next generation to take up and advance the torch of freedom, it will extinguish. We desire to help students be positive change agents, and give them the tools needed to successfully engage in the political arena and every area of the culture. Our prayer is that every young person who attends Patriot Academy will understand it is their duty and privilege to guard the precious legacy of liberty. By God’s grace we will raise up a generation who will leading the change in both the public square and the private sector.

In a nation that appears to be doing everything possible to expunge the remnants of its Christian foundation and heritage, it is no wonder that John Calvin has been forgotten as the virtual founder of our nation. John Adams, America’s second President; Leopold von Ranke, a nineteenth century leading German historian; and George Bancroft, a Harvard educated historian known as the “father of American history”, all testified to the significant influence Calvin had upon the foundation of America.

Unlike Locke or Montesquieu, however, Calvin did not write a political treatise on how to organize civil government. Instead, he wrote Biblical expositions that completely changed how people in western culture thought about their relation to God and, subsequently, how they thought about their relation to their civil government.

Although he did not write a political treatise, Calvin did popularize three Biblical principles and took one action that helped shape western culture and influenced the founding of America more than anything else he said or did. First, he explained that the civil magistrate and his work are a divinely established order. Second, he explained that although civil disobedience to the magistrate is forbidden, there is a limitation to the magistrate’s authority. Third, he explained that the lesser magistrate is a check on unlawful use of power by a higher magistrate, and fourth, his ecclesiastical organization heavily influenced the political structures of Scotland, England and, ultimately, the American colonies…

In the US Constitution, one can see a reflection of the three main Christian denominations that were prevalent in America in 1787. Over ninety-seven percent of the approximate three million people living in America, around its founding, were Protestant Christians. Of that ninety-seven percent, the three most common denominations were Anglican (Episcopal), Presbyterian, and Congregationalist. The Episcopal Church government was hierarchal, or the rule of the one; the Presbyterian Church government was representative, or rule by the few; and the Congregational Church government was democratic, or rule by the many.

The Executive Branch of the United States national government is a reflection of Episcopal Church government; rule by the one. The Senate, which prior to the Seventeenth Amendment, was a reflection of Presbyterian Church government; rule by the few. The House of Representatives, the only entity in the United States national government that was intended to be elected by the majority of the electorate, is a reflection of the Congregational Church government; rule by the many. In this, one can see the United States national government is a reflection of the different forms of church governments most prevalent in America in 1787. Two-thirds of the United States national government reflects the two-thirds of the Calvinist population living in America at that time and their form of ecclesiastical government…

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Articles posted on this website are meant to provoke thought among the community and membership. These articles do not represent endorsement by the Lower Valley Assembly. Articles which do represent an official LVA position will be noted as such in the title or body of the post.